AA warns against MoT test changes

The AA has warned the government that proposed changes to the MoT test would increase the number of unsafe vehicles on the road.

The government is considering increasing a car's first MoT test from three years to four years and then every other year after that.

The AA polled its 18,700 members and 62% believed that there would be more hazardous vehicles on the road if the annual MOT test was changed to every other year, while 41% said delaying a vehicle's first MoT until the fourth year would have the same effect.

AA President Edmund King said: 'The Government's idea to extend the MoT test intervals may be portrayed as an olive branch to drivers by reducing the burden on them. The AA and three-fifths of our members believe it is a false saving which could lead to more expensive repairs later, and that's before the safety argument.

'The Government should abandon plans for this consultation as TRL research shows than more crashes will result from less frequent MoTs.'